House sitting

[Oceangirl82]

Thinking of doing some house/pet sitting on my own. Has anyone done this. Any good/bad stories, tips etc What do you do about references and do you have a DBS check? Also want agencies would you recommend?
Thanks

I pet sit as part of my dog walking business.

I don't have a DBS and have never been asked for one. I am fully insured though and I have pet first aid training too.

I'll be honest - I don't overly enjoy sits. Being away from home and sleeping in someone else's house while caring for their pets is hard. I feel like you never fully relax as you're aware that you're working all the time.

What are you looking to earn from this? A full time career or some extra money on the side? I say that as pet sitting doesn't pay very well for the hours you're working - around here it's £40 for 24 hours and that includes an hour of walks.

The local kennel, by comparison, charges just £12 for 24h of care.

Minimum wage for 24h would mean you had to charge over £200 per day. And even though you're asleep you're still at work - if one of the dogs gets sick or something you're the one getting up at 2am to deal with it!

I would just think long and hard about how tiring it can be staying away from home on a regular or long-term basis, especially when you look at what you'll actually be earning.

we seem have crossed wires 😬
I won’t be house sitting as a paid job, I look after the house and animals in return for staying in the house, in an area I like currently looking at Ely and London.

we seem have crossed wires 😬
I won’t be house sitting as a paid job, I look after the house and animals in return for staying in the house, in an area I like currently looking at Ely and London.

Whoops posted twice because on the first post it said error and to try again 🤷‍♀️